NORMAN LOUW of Birchleigh North writes:
The main artery road Julia Street, which runs from Mooifontein Road down to Strydom Road in Birchleigh North, is the new “racing track”.
The speed limit on this road is 60km/h but up to 80 per cent of motorists ignore this speed limit. They race down Julia Street speeding well over 80km/h and up to 100km/h early mornings and afternoons before the traffic increases.
The intersection halfway down Julia Street, corner of Heloise Street, is a three-way stop street. All motorists and cyclists ignore the stop signs. Some slow down, others drive at 80-100km/h over the intersection, without looking for oncoming traffic.
This is the same scenario at the intersection of Strydom and Julia streets. The noise level is absolutely deafening, mainly from vehicles speeding beyond 80-100km/h.
I wonder if any of these “racing drivers on the track” reside on Julia Street. This I doubt. They basically use Julia Street as a shorter route to various extensions of Birchleigh North. I also know these “racing track drivers” will not tolerate motorists driving at any speed above 60km/h in front of their homes.
The church on the corner of Mooifontein and Julia streets means nothing for these fast, illegal, irresponsible and selfish drivers. The churchgoers have to tolerate screeching brakes and excessive noise from these “Kyalami fast racing drivers”.
This is blatantly disrespectful towards worshippers and other residents of the suburb.
The solution could be speed humps to reduce the excessive speed scenario on Julia Street. However, there are always budget constraints and negative excuses to erect humps. On Strydom Street there are speed humps, hence the increase of speeding motorists on Julia Street.
If the traffic department put up concealed speed traps in Julia Street, I guarantee they will achieve their targets in no time. But this is a temporary solution. We need a permanent solution to stop this irresponsible driving in our city.
